winking (at)

verb

present participle of wink (at)
as in ignoring
to dismiss as of little importance for too long the school just winked at the young athletes' hooliganism, dismissing it as a case of "boys being boys"

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for winking (at)
  1. ignoring
  2. forgiving
  3. overlooking
  4. passing over
  5. explaining
  6. shrugging off
  7. papering over
Verb
  • The queue — which wrapped around a nearby alleyway — slowly filed into the store, mostly ignoring the protest.
    — Anna Tingley, Variety, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The post accused bar employees of ignoring complaints about the costume and claimed the man made Nazi salutes.
    — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of ignoring
Verb
  • Acton, who led Ohio’s Covid-19 response, prioritized protecting the accessibility of Medicaid, forgiving medical debt, tackling surprise billing, and creating a new prescription drug plan to lower costs.
    — Sarah Todd, STAT, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The remarkably, borderline unbelievably forgiving Adams became good friends with her ex-husband.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of forgiving
Verb
  • All come with vast mesmerizing views, some overlooking the lake, others facing the green valley, some have terraces; the lake view royal suite has its own rooftop terrace.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Nov. 2026
  • The dining room and lounge open to a patio overlooking a heated in-ground pool and cabana.
    — Kaitlyn Keegan, Hartford Courant, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of overlooking
Verb
  • Expect Trinidad Chambliss, picked off three times by Texas, to be better against an Auburn defense that’s allowed over 700 yards passing over last two games.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The probability of a hurricane passing over any particular point is low, especially farther from the Mexican coast, since most Pacific hurricanes tend to stay closer to Mexico.
    — Nicholas Grondin, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of passing over
Verb
  • Students who were comfortable explaining concepts suddenly hesitated.
    — Washington Post, Washington Post, 8 Nov. 2026
  • However, replacing the standard cosmological model, known as Lambda–Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM), requires more than explaining unusual galaxies.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of explaining
Verb
  • In Crystal Palace’s recent 2-2 away draw with Besiktas in the Europa League, the Frenchman intelligently read a backpass from defender Tiago Djalo before shrugging off a challenge and rifling the ball into the top corner.
    — Thom Harris, New York Times, 29 Oct. 2026
  • That shrugging off of the war was a common attitude among visitors to Boulevard City, organizers say.
    — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of shrugging off
Verb
  • But many residents worry that the festive mood and infrastructure works risk papering over the security crisis that still affects their daily lives.
    — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 4 June 2026
  • The improvement between Gemini 2 and Gemini 3 may be papering over a more serious flaw.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 8 Apr. 2026
Definition of papering over
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

winking
winking (at)
winking (out)
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Cite this Entry

“Winking (at).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winking%20%28at%29. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

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